


Imperial Luke- Naboo's Imperial Parade

by Skyguyy



Series: Imperial Luke [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Characters will be added as the story goes, Child Luke Skywalker, Dad Vader, Empire Day is mentioned like a lot, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Know How The Force Works, I don't know how space works, Luke is an excited cinnamon roll, OCs - Freeform, Palpatine is a jerk, Parent Darth Vader, Vader is grumpy, an unwanted vacation, humor i guess?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25551217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyguyy/pseuds/Skyguyy
Summary: Series part of Imperial Luke one-shots where Luke is raised by Vader, this is a longer story of this au. Emperor Palpatine wants to spend Empire Day where the largest celebration takes place, his home planet. Vader does not want to go to Naboo, Luke on the other hand is eager to learn more about his mother.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker | Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker, Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader, Sheev Palpatine & Darth Vader, Sheev Palpatine & Luke Skywalker
Series: Imperial Luke [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1838965
Comments: 59
Kudos: 98





	1. The Emperor's Request

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter is mostly set up, I hope you guys like it!

Luke rapidly tapped his finger on the desk in his study hall as he thought on how to finish his Imperial Foundations essay. Empire Week was coming up soon and his school was already decked with Imperial decorations. The school was funded by the oh so great and glorious Emperor himself, it wouldn’t shock Luke at all if the Emperor had requested they spend two dedicated weeks focused on his Imperial Highness leading up to Empire Day. 

His Imperial Histories teacher had requested they write an essay on the founding of the Empire, which every student basically learned by heart. He needed something to wrap up his essay but didn’t know how to finish it. He shrugged and quickly typed in a last sentence.  _ And that’s why the founding of the Empire was so important.  _ Yeah, wasn’t the best last sentence to an essay but it was quick and to the point. He pulled out the data chip from his datapad and shoved it in his bag, the bell in his school rang. 

Students in the class sat up collecting their things, Luke walked out into the hall towards his History class. His friend Aaron ran up from behind him, “Hey, did you finish your essay in study hall?” Aaron asked.

“Yeah, thank the force, its kinda rushed in the end though.” Luke sighed as he looked down to the ground

“I never know how to finish essays,” Aaron shrugged. 

“I hate how they make us write about the founding of the Empire every year, like  _ oh did you forget? The Jedi tried to take over! _ ” Luke and Aaron were walking the halls and saw every student they passed had something pinned to their jacket. Luke suddenly remembered they were missing something

“Oh- Aaron put on your Imperial Spirit pin,” Luke said quickly, he shoved his hand in his pocket. He had put his badge in there so he didn’t lose it but had forgotten to put it on, he pulled the badge out of the pocket and pinned it to his uniform's dark blue jacket. “I can’t believe how strict they are about wearing this thing,” Luke mumbled as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

“I know, four people from my homeroom got detention for leaving it at home.” Aaron sighed, “But it's nearing Empire Week so.” Aaron shrugged. Luke was lost as to how a pin was an accurate representation of your loyalty to the Empire. It was just a pin, after all, but Luke wore it anyway because whether he liked it or not, forgetting to wear it was worthy of detention. 

Empire Day was taken incredibly seriously, as well as celebrated for weeks on end. The city was decorated from head to toe, public parks played the Imperial National Anthem softly through speakers, and the school had Imperial Spirit week the week leading up to Empire Day. All of Coruscant was gearing up for the holiday, no holiday was more loved on this planet then Empire Day. It was the center of the Empire, where the throne of the Emperor resided. Huge festivities celebrated through the streets and parks.

Empire Day was stressful, fun, and boring all at the same time. Luke would have to get dressed in possibly the fanciest outfit he had, it was practically a uniform. It was the day most of the high Imperials referred to him as a “prince” of the Empire, which he supposed he was, though that did stress him out. Luke was just thankful it was the end of the week and school would be over soon.

* * *

Leaving a special meeting about Project Stardust, Vader was walking the halls of the Imperial Palace towards Sidious’s private audience chamber. He supposed the Emperor had wanted to speak with him on the updates on the project, though he was not in charge of it. He officially placed Grand Moff Tarkin in charge not too long ago. Perhaps it wasn’t about the project, Sidious always grew concerned as Empire Day grew. Assassination attempts were at an all-time high around this time of the year. 

Vader neared the throne room, the large doors swung open and Vader strode down the long red carpet leading to the dias with a large jewel-encrusted throne. Despite the pain it brought, Vader kneeled in front of the Emperor. Sidious was silent for a long while, observing the dark lord in front of him, knowing the act of kneeling brought him pain.

“Rise, my friend,” Sidious said slowly, Vader rose, facing Sidious.

“How may I be of service, my master,” Vader asked, Sidious was quiet yet again. 

“Lord Vader, do you know where the largest Empire Day celebration in the Galaxy is held?” Sidious asked, a small smile crept on his face. Vader kept his shields locked tight in the presence of Sidious, but such an unexpected question almost made him falter. His shields almost dropped, revealing the immense confusion that Vader was feeling. Why was the Emperor quizzing him on something like this?

“I believe it is Imperial City, my master,” Vader answered, Sidious laughed softly.

“Wrong,” Sidious paused, “It is Theed, on my home planet, Naboo.” Vader tightened his shields as much as he could, but felt a large roiling fire burning in his chest. The thought of the planet left him with terrible memories, they flashed in his head of his old life. Sidious was doing this on purpose. “When was the last time you have been to my home planet, Lord Vader?”

“Thirteen years ago, my master.” Sidious narrowed his eyes on him and smiled further. 

“I would like to celebrate Empire Day on my home planet this year, I have not been to Naboo in a long while as well.” Sidious folded his hands over each other. “They throw such a large celebration in honor of me, I must show my appreciation for my own home planet.”

“I hope your celebration on Naboo fairs well, my master.” Vader knew what was possibly coming, but hoped it wasn’t true. Sidious sat up in his seat, leaning forwards towards Vader.

“Make no mistake, you are joining me on Naboo, Lord Vader.” Sidious hissed, “You may bring your offspring as well, it might like to visit the planet, it was where its mother was from, after all.” Sidious laughed, Vader was furious. His burning anger blasted against his shields, threatening to break them down at any moment. Sidious enjoyed this, enjoyed putting Vader through constant turmoil. 

Empire Day was terrible for Vader, a day of the year where he is reminded of everything he had lost. The love and trust of his wife died when Kenobi tricked her and turned her against him, what was worse, Empire Day was the last day he ever saw her. If he was with her he could have saved her, he could have been there for the birth of his child. Kenobi ripped those opportunities from him. Empire Day was living hell, being on Naboo would only increase the pain.

“As you wish, my master,” Vader finally replied after being silent while trying to hold back his emotions. “When shall we depart?”

“0700 tomorrow, we will arrive just before Empire Day.” Sidious informed, “You are dismissed, Lord Vader.” Sidious waved Vader away with the flick of his wrist. Vader turned to leave and walked down the throne room, exiting through the large chamber doors and down the hall of the palace. He walked with swift determination, ready to stomp over anyone that had gotten in his way.

_ Naboo _ , why now did Sidious want to celebrate Empire Day on Naboo? Vader’s last visit was soon after he had obtained Luke, after he got his son he felt just a nagging sense to visit her final resting place. Luke was the living reminder, living proof, that she was here, she once was alive. Everytime he looked at him he thought of her, so to put the intrusive thoughts of her out of his mind he went to her memorial. He wasn’t there for long, the whole time he was at her memorial he felt overwhelming feelings surge his body. Seeing her memorial made it all too real,  _ “I wish you could see him.” _ Is all Vader could say to the stone where her body lay before quickly leaving and vowing to never return.

That vow was now on its way to being broken, unfortunately, he walked out to the landing pads and towards his ship. He had much to prepare, last-minute departures were incredibly stressful. He had several meetings to push, projects to approve, and a ship to prepare for a trip to Naboo. He entered his ship as he mentally prepared a list of things he must do before their departure.

* * *

Lekauf landed the speeder in the hangar, Luke jumped out, “Call me if you need me Luke, I’ll be in my office.” Lekauf said as he walked out of the speeder. Luke walked towards the lift and turned his head to Lekauf.

“Okay!” Luke smiled and walked into the lift, the lift began to ascend when he looked down and saw his pin was still on. He took the pin off and shoved it in his pocket, grumbling under his breath about the absurdity of the pin. The lift doors opened and Luke walked down the hall, he then felt his father’s force presence brush up against him. 

_ “Luke, come to the conference room.”  _ He heard his father’s voice say. 

_ “Uh- okay”  _ Luke replied, then the connection was cut _. _

Luke’s bedroom door swooshed open and he threw his bag onto the floor, he turned down the hall towards the conference room. He walked in, his father looked out over the city and turned to face Luke. “Out of request from the Emperor, we must leave to Naboo for this coming Empire Day.” Lukes’s eyes widened. 

“ _ Naboo _ ?” Luke asked as he crossed his arms over his chest, “Why Naboo?”

“It is the Emperor’s home planet, the largest Imperial festivities take place there.” His father replied, “You should pack as soon as possible, we leave in the morning.”

“We are leaving so soon?” Luke asked, “How long does it take to get there?”

“Approximately a week.” Luke nodded slowly and furrowed his brows.

“Wow- this trip is so sudden,” Luke remarked.

“I  _ know _ .” His father said, his voice full of annoyance. Luke thought about the trip, he didn’t know what to think. He didn’t mind the idea of going to Naboo, the more he thought of it a slow smile crept on his face. He realized he was gonna have a week off of school, yeah it was going to be on a Star Destroyer but still, a week off was worth smiling about. 

“Okay, I’ll go pack right now.” Luke turned to leave but his father spoke up.

“Oh, do not worry about missing a week of school. I have already contacted your teachers, they have sent me work for you to do while we are away.” Luke rounded quickly, his eyes wide and mouth agape.

“What!?” Luke asked, “You're gonna make me do school work  _ outside  _ of school!?” 

“Yes, being behind on schoolwork is unacceptable.” His father folded his arms, “You will finish the work you miss.” Luke huffed.

“Are you trying to make my life as boring as possible!?” 

“No.”

“Well, you're doing a pretty good job at making it boring!” 

“How unfortunate,” His father said, “Go and pack your things, young one.” Luke huffed again and turned to leave, he guessed having to do his work on time was better than doing it all when he got back was a good idea, but never admit it. Luke walked into his room and into his closet, he pulled down two large boxes and began to fill them up with random clothing. 

Then, in a tightly concealed plastic bag was his Empire Day outfit. He placed it gently down in one of the boxes he was packing, nothing bad could happen to that outfit, it was probably the fanciest outfit he owned. He walked into his refresher and grabbed the photo of his parents he was given in the box left by the Emperor. He looked down at his mother and smiled, then his eyes lit up.

He quickly but gently set down the picture and ran out of his room into the conference room, “Wait! Isn’t Naboo where-” Luke was quickly cut off.

“Yes, it is.” His father said with a cold chill in his voice, Luke stood there for a moment in shock they were going to Naboo. His mother’s homeworld, he was really going to see it. Maybe he would walk the halls she walked so that both of them were there at some point. “Go finish packing.” His father instructed, Luke nodded and turned back to his room. 

Luke was now excited to go to Naboo, at first, he had felt pretty neutral on the trip. But knowing he was going to his mother’s homeworld only made him more excited to go. He packed both pictures of his mother and his mother's comb, making sure it was packed safely. He packed a few other things and eventually found himself on his bed watching his holo. He couldn’t stop thinking about his mother, if his mother maybe had family on Naboo. If maybe his mother’s grave was on the planet, he would like to go to it one day, be closer to her then he had ever been.


	2. Arriving to Naboo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Vader get to Naboo, Vader is grumpy >:( Luke is happy. Luke gets a little tour and is shocked at what he sees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the love for the first chapter! I hope you like the second one as much haha!

Luke woke with a jump, his alarm blaring next to him. He leaned over to shut the sound off and rubbed his eyes. It was still dark outside, he glanced at the chrono and saw it was thirty minutes to 0700. The lights of the city cast a light blue glow in his room, he could hear the constant stream of Croscanti traffic outside. Honks from flyers and sirens from emergency speeders cried in the distance, Luke rolled out of bed. 

He then felt his father's presence wrap around him, then he heard his father’s voice in his head. _“You must get up, my son, we need to leave soon if we are to stay on schedule.”_

_“I’m getting up,”_ Luke responded, the connection was cut and Luke stood and stretched his arms out. He bent over on the floor and threw something presentable on to wear, he then heard a knocking on his bedroom door. Luke walked over and pressed the panel by his door, it swooshed open and light poured into his room.

He squinted his eyes as they adjusted to the bright lights in the halls and saw two ensigns, ones he hadn’t talked to too much. “We are here to deliver your belongings to the _Devastator_ ,” One of the men said. Luke stood back to let them in.

“Yeah, just those boxes over there,” Luke pointed towards the large boxes he packed the previous night. The ensigns moved over towards them, picked them up, and left carrying them down the hall towards the lift. Luke walked towards the panel by his door and ordered a small breakfast, he was half tempted to order caf but knew better. He was just so tired, he was not used to getting up this early. Luke walked out to the hall, still not used to the bright lights. 

In the corner of his eye, he saw his father's personal chambers door swoosh open. He was expecting the large dark figure of his father but saw a frantic Lekauf run out, consumed with his datapad working on something quickly. Lekauf’s eyes glanced up and his eyes lit up at Luke, “Oh Luke, thank the force you're up.”

“Good morning to you too,” Luke laughed softly followed by a yawn, Lekauf gave him a half smile.

“Sorry for acting so frantic, but you need to get down to the hangar, your father is waiting for you.” Lekauf grabbed Luke by the shoulder and began to lead him towards the lift. 

“But my breakfast!” Luke said as he turned his head back to look at his room.

“They have food on the _Devastator_.” Lekauf sighed as they both entered the lift, Lekauf punched the lift control panel to descend to the hangar. “Curse last minute departures…” Lekauf mumbled.

“Why is it so last minute?” Luke asked, Lekauf sighed.

“The Emperor's last minute request,” Lekauf typed rapidly in his datapad, “Naboo is the Emperor's homeworld, they throw a huge celebration in honor of him.” Luke scrunched his face, the Emperor was from the same world his mother was from? That didn’t sit well with him, the lift doors opened and Lekauf placed his hand on Luke's shoulder and directed him out into the hangar.

Luke saw his father's large dark figure walking down the exit ramp of a shuttle, Luke and Lekauf stopped at the foot of the ramp as his father reached them. “Here is your son, my Lord.” Lekauf let go of Luke's shoulder, Luke yawned deeply.

“I can _see_ that,” His father snapped, Luke didn’t understand how his father could be so snarky this early in the morning. “Luke, get on the ship immediately, I will be on momentarily.” 

“Can’t I just wait out here with you?” Luke yawned.

“No,” His father pointed hard at him, “Get on that shuttle before I carry you on!” His father said firmly, Luke didn’t want to take the chance and ran up the ship's ramp. He plopped down in the co-pilot’s seat and stared longingly at the yoke of the ship. He wondered if maybe his father would let him fly up to the _Devastator_ , Luke let out a sigh. He doubted it, his father was in an incredibly bad mood, but still, a little voice in his head kept persuading him to ask if he could fly.

Luke grew increasingly bored as he waited for his father. He slumped in his seat and carefully and oh so delicately propped his feet up on the dash of the ship. He avoided the heels of his shoes from pressing down on any of the important buttons, he rested his eyes and relaxed until his father came.

* * *

“Inform Governor Restos I will review his project at my leisure,” Vader informed Lekauf, Lekauf nodded as he typed.

“Yes, my Lord, right away.” 

“Keep me updated on what is going on in Coruscant, send out spies to wherever you deem necessary to stay up to date.” Lekauf nodded, “With the Emperor and I absent, no doubt there will be corruption.” Vader sighed. 

“Already had spies sent to the Senate and the Palace, my Lord.” 

“Send several to the ISB as well.” 

“At once, my Lord.” Leland punched information into his datapad as Vader turned and stalked up the exit ramp into the shuttle with Lekauf behind him. He entered the cockpit and saw his son's feet on the dash of the ship.

“Luke! Take your feet off of the dashboard!” Vader ordered, Luke jumped slightly and pulled his legs into his chest and wrapped his arms around his knees. “You cannot put your feet on there, this is a ship, not a lounge!”

“Could’ve fooled me.” Luke laughed tiredly and yawned, “Hey- do you think I could fly us up to the Star Destroyer? Pleeeaaase!???” Luke asked as he clapped his hands together.

“Do I look like a fool to you?” Vader asked.

“Uhhh-” Luke looked side to side, “Well, not r-”

“Do not test my patience, young one.” He pointed at Luke, “There is no way I am letting you fly this ship.” Luke sighed as Vader sat in the pilot's seat and lifted the shuttle. The shuttle flew gently up at an angle towards the large Star Destroyer that lay far into the sky, the lights of the destroyer were the closest things to stars you could see on Coruscant. Luke was looking down on the city as they distanced themselves.

Vader was furious, he loathed every action he was doing that led to their destination. More than anything, he wanted to stay as far away from Naboo as possible, he wanted to forget it even existed. His son grew more excited the closer they got to the Star Destroyer, he understood his son couldn’t help it, it was natural for him to want to see the planet. 

They broke from the atmosphere, Vader punched in a clearance code and slowly moved towards his private hangar. The shuttle gently landed and Luke jumped out of his seat, Vader slowly stood from his seat and shut off the engine. Vader followed after Luke, who was in the process of walking down the exit ramp. 

“Luke, you may go to your room and fall back to sleep while I am on the bridge.” Vader told his son. Luke nodded slowly then rubbed the back of his head and looked up at him.

“Okay-” Luke paused and felt Luke poke at his mental shields, “So uh- are you feeling okay?” Vader didn’t drop his shields. Vader was feeling a maelstrom of emotions, feelings he did not want to burden his son with. They would overwhelm him, the weight of emotions he carried were hard enough to carry for him.

“I do not feel the need to burden you with how I am feeling,” Luke furrowed his brows.

“Your feelings aren’t a burden.” Luke said quietly as he looked to the ground.

“I do not wish to discuss this right now,” Vader said sternly, Luke nodded slowly, still looking to the ground. “Go to your room and get some rest, young one.” Luke nodded.

“Okay, I’ll see you in the morning.” Luke looked up at Vader, his eyes sympathetic. 

“Rest well, young one.” Vader paused, “Do not worry about me, my son.” Luke smiled softly and nodded. Vader turned to leave the hangar. Giving the consent to hyperspace jump to Naboo was something he never thought he would do again. The Emperor was not doing this to honor citizens of Naboo, not even entirely for the extravagant celebration they threw, but for pure and utter emotional torture. 

Having to go to Naboo was weighing on his mental state, usually he was able to think clearly. These past 24 hours he had been as distracted as when he got Luke as an infant. He couldn’t allow his master to show how distracted he was.

* * *

Luke walked down the hall of his father's private chambers towards his room thinking about his father. He seemed the opposite of _fine_ , despite what his father claimed, Luke knew he wasn’t. Luke's mother had always been a difficult topic for his father, Luke knew going to his mother's homeworld must be difficult for him. His father wasn’t exactly an open book, him admitting how he felt was not likely. 

Luke walked into his room and laid in his bed, unable to believe he was actually going to his mothers home planet. His stomach flipped, he so anxious to get there. Luke’s excitement somewhat fizzled once he remembered the Emperor would be there, ruining something as important as this. But Luke knew, without the Emperors specific orders to go to Naboo, his father would never take him there. He didn’t like the feeling of being somewhat grateful of the Emperors orders but couldn’t help it, he was going to Naboo, he fell asleep, smiling at that fact.

* * *

The week on the ship was as boring as it usually was, there wasn’t much for a thirteen year old to do on the ship. Luke either explored as much as possible or watched something on his holovid, but the week couldn’t have gone any slower. He looked out the viewport waiting for it to stop to see Naboo float below him, anxiously waiting for them to get there faster. 

Luke woke up in his bed from a deep sleep to the ship jumping out of hyperspace and listened to the soft hum from the ship. Any fatigue he felt quickly purge his body, realizing he was finally over the planet. He jumped out of his bed and looked out the transparisteel viewport down on the planet below. It was a large, soft green planet with swirls of white clouds decorating the sphere surrounded by a blanket of stars. Luke let out a breath of amazement, his nose pressed up against the glass. 

His mother's planet floated beautifully down below the ship, Luke couldn’t help but smile softly at the view. He wanted nothing more than to see the planet his mother grew up on, walk the halls she did, see pictures of her. Luke had recalled his father mentioning she was the Queen of this planet, which was still mind blowing to think about. 

Luke checked his chrono, 0800, they must have just gotten there. Just as Luke began to wonder when they would descend on the planet, his father poked at his shields. Luke opened their bond, he could feel initial shock from his father's end from the bond. 

_“I did not expect you to be up so early, young one.”_ His father’s voice said in his head. 

_“I woke when then ship jumped out of hyperspace,”_

_“Get ready, we must depart from the Devastator soon. Wear something presentable, you will be meeting with a Queen.”_ Luke felt his stomach twist and turn into tight knots, a Queen!? What was he supposed to say to a Queen?

_“O-Okay,”_ Luke cut the connection then rifled through a closet and pulled on something presentable, but felt nothing would be good enough to meet a Queen in. He looked at himself in the mirror and flattened down his hair which stuck out each and every way. Luke stretched out the rest of his tiredness and walked to leave his room, his father stood in front of it waiting for him.

“Are you ready to go?” His father asked, Luke nodded.

“Yeah- I haven’t eaten anything yet though,” Luke shrugged.

“There will be food down on Na-” His father paused, “The planet,” he corrected. Luke chose not to say anything, still keeping in mind this must be difficult for him. His father nudged Luke to move down the hall, Luke led the way towards his father's private hangar. 

They entered the hangar, Lekauf walked down the shuttle’s exit ramp and lit up when he saw Luke. Lekauf smiled widely, “Hello Luke, good morning!” Luke smiled.

“Hi Lekauf,” Lekauf walked up to him and looked him up and down.

“Wow, you look spiffy huh? Well, your hair could do with some fixing..” Lekauf’s formed a half smile, Luke frowned and was about to respond when he felt his father's hand on his shoulder and forcefully turned him around.

“I would have to agree with you, Lieutenant.” His father began to fix his collar and straighten his hair, “Did you even brush your hair this morning?!” Luke shook his head.

“I forgot!” Luke furrowed his brows, “Do I look stupid!?” Slightly panicking at the thought of looking stupid in front of a Queen.

“No, you do not look like stupid,” His father said, “Just like you had slept in.” Luke slumped his shoulders, “Follow me.” His father commanded and strode towards the shuttle. Luke and Lekauf followed behind him, Luke raced to the cockpit and sat down excitedly in the co-pilot's seat. 

His father sat in the pilot's seat, Luke watched him, he looked almost hesitant but eventually lifted the shuttle and moved slowly out into space. Luke’s eyes widened in amazement as they slowly moved towards the planet, the greenery becoming slowly more defined into lush forestry. They broke into the atmosphere, they flew over rivers, creeks, waterfalls, and saw, sat upon a large cliff, a large and beautiful city.

It's not anything like Coruscant, the buildings did not touch the sky and make you question how far down the ground was. They were made of old stone with soft green moss and vines growing upon them. Trees, bushes, flowers and old statues decorated the old city. Luke then saw a large Palace with domed roofs atop several towers down the large main road. He heard the tightening leather of his father's gloves tighten around the yoke. The road was cleared and blocked off, Luke guessed it was for the parade.

“Once we arrive at the palace, Lekauf shall give you a tour so you do not get lost.” 

“You're gonna let me walk around the palace?” Luke asked, genuinely shocked. 

“Yes, I must review the security protocols set up for tomorrow, I cannot allow any distractions.” 

Luke nodded slowly but quickly sat up in his seat when the ship neared the Palace into a large hangar, Luke internally cringed when he saw the Emperor's shuttle was stationed there as well. His father landed the shuttle next to the Emperors and shut off the engine. Luke could hear the muffled sound of the exit ramp lowering from the cockpit, but Luke kept his eyes on his father. His father stood from the pilots seat, “Let us get this over with as quickly as possible.” His father said as he left the cockpit. Luke shot up in his seat and followed behind him down the cockpit.

Luke saw a woman, who he assumed was the Queen, in the most extravagant gown he had ever seen, her face painted in white with red marks. She was surrounded by several other girls in the same outfits, he looked at them in amazement. The Queen bowed towards his father and smiled brightly.

“It is an honor Lo-”

“Dispense with the pleasantries, I do not think I can pretend to care what you will have to say.” Luke knew his father was in a bad mood, but didn’t know he was in _this_ bad of a mood. The Queens eyes widened and nodded slowly.

“I understand-” She paused, “May I ask who this i-” She began to gesture to Luke but was cut off yet again.

“He will be staying in one of the guest rooms, but first my Lieutenant shall give him a tour.” She nodded slowly, his father turned to Lekauf, “Make sure Luke stays safe.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Lekauf bowed.

“One of your personal assistants shall give Luke a tour, then bring him to his room.” The Queen motioned for one of the women to move forward and walked towards Luke. “Take me to where the Emperor is.” His father demanded from the Queen then turned to Luke, “Follow Lekauf and the personal assistant, do _not_ get into trouble while I am away, or else.” Luke felt a high temptation to ask, _or else what_ , but knew better to test him right now. Luke swallowed hard and nodded, his father turned and followed the Queen as they left the hangar. The woman cleared her throat and smiled. 

“Hello, my name is Yisé.” Luke smiled.

“Luke,” he examined the intricate braids the woman had in her blonde hair, “So, how big is the pal-”

“ _Hello,_ Yisé,” Lekauf smiled brilliantly, “I am Lekauf.” He held out his hand, Yisé took it awkwardly and smiled. 

“Well- shall we begin the tour?” Luke nodded, she turned and led the way as Lekauf and Luke followed behind her. Luke’s eyes widened at the sight, the palace was huge. The ceiling towered above him, Luke craned his neck all the way back to see the murals painted on the ceiling. They wandered the halls, he tried remember the passage they took so he wouldn’t get lost. Yisé began to tell them the history of paintings they saw, statues and the palace in general.

“They really should have a map of this place.” Lekauf laughed, Luke rolled his eyes and continued forward through the large halls of the palace. So far, it was the most elegant place he had ever been to in his life. The floor was a glossy marble cream color, the walls were decorated with large paintings, Luke assumed they were paintings of old royalty. The stained glass windows cast colorful light into the halls, it was breathtaking and Luke didn’t mind the idea of getting lost in here. 

They rounded a corner and walked upon the large main entrance of the palace. Yisé turned and smiled, “Would you guys like to see the main road? There is plenty of history out there.” Luke nodded quickly.

“Yeah!” Luke jumped slightly, she laughed softly and whispered something to Lekauf. Lekauf’s mouth twisted into a grin, like he was holding back a laugh. Luke furrowed his brows and crossed his arms. 

“What are you laughing about?!” Lekauf smiled. 

“It’s nothing Luke- she just thinks it’s cute how excited you are.” Luke's mouth dropped open. 

“I am not cute! I am 13!” He protested, Lekauf and Yisé just laughed. Luke groaned as he followed them out of the palace. Luke wondered if his father would be okay if he walked the main road but his father never explicitly said _no_ to going out. Just a tour, and this still counted as the tour, right?

They walked down the steps and onto the main road. The sky was grey, casting a darkness over the city. He wouldn’t be surprised if it began to rain any second. Luke looked around at the beautiful stone buildings, stone road and planet life all around him. Luke could hear birds singing, which was rare on Coruscant. Luke soaked in the wonderful sights that there were to see on this planet, his impressions were slightly enhanced by the very fact this was his mother's homeplanet. 

He wondered if on a regular time of year the streets were busy and packed with people, unlike now, it was just Luke, Lekauf, and Yisé, she raddled on about the history of Theed, it was hard for Luke to pay attention as he looked around. The grey sky deepened in color, in the distance they heard the soft crack of thunder. Lekauf walked to Luke and looked at the sky with a slight concern. “We should probably get back inside.”

“Please can we keep looking around?” Luke asked with a pleading look in his eyes, “A little rain won’t hurt us.” Lekauf quickly looked between Luke and Yisé.

  
“Okay, how about 5 more minutes,” Yisé offered, Lekauf looked okay with those terms and began typing in his datapad. 

If 5 minutes was all he had he would use every second, Luke speed walked down the street, quickly surveying the area. Lekauf struggled to keep up with him as he typed, Luke read each sign of shops he passed, admired every sculpture he saw. Another crack of thunder sounded off in the distance, Luke felt light rain drops fall onto him. Luke knew he wasn’t going to be able to stay out here much longer if it began to pour so he picked up his speed.

Luke reached the end of the main road, the rain started to pick up. He turned to see Lekauf catch up to him, “Luke- we are going to have to head back.” Luke slumped his shoulders and took one final look around.

“Okay just one-” Luke paused when his eyes spotted an old sign on a mossy stone wall. Luke walked slowly towards it, Luke began to feel his heart beat quicken as he read the sign over and over again.

_Naboo’s Royal Burial Ground_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Vader is NOT having a good time, Luke is doing his best to be optimistic under his fathers mood haha. 
> 
> Please let me know what you thought! I love hearing from you guys!


	3. Tears for his Mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke sees his mommas grave :(
> 
> His father is still grumpy and Luke doesn't appreciate it

“Luke! What are you looking at!?” Lekauf asked as he grabbed his shoulder, Luke looked up from the sign. His mind raced, wondering if maybe his mother's grave was in there. She was a queen after all and this was a burial ground for royalty. Luke slowly turned to face Lekauf.

“C-Can you give me just one minute?” Luke asked softly, “Please?” Lekauf thinned his lips and looked at his chrono, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Just one minute.” Lekauf sighed, “No longer, the rain is starting to pick up.” Luke nodded slowly and turned back to walk slowly into the burial ground. Luke followed the uneven stone passageway that curved in every direction. Luke looked at the large stone graves as he passed, reading them to see if his mother's name was etched in the stone. Rain fell heavily on Luke, his feet splashing in the small puddles that formed in the crevice of the stone. 

Being in a burial ground in itself was somewhat unsettling to Luke, he felt his chest tighten. It was almost hard to breathe, as if breathing too loudly it would offend the spirits that may roam this very place. As Luke began to wonder where the stone path led, he saw it end at the steps of a large mausoleum. Luke shielded his eyes from the rain as he looked up to see if there was a name labeling the structure. Luke felt all air escape his chest as he read the name that was etched in stone.

_Padmé Amidala Naberrie_

Luke felt his eyes begin to water as he walked towards it slowly, he walked up the stone staircase and saw a long rectangular stone burial case. Above the stone grave was a large stained glass window of a woman with brown hair, Luke bit the inside of his mouth to hold back his tears, he walked further into the memorial and was covered from the rain. He placed a hand on the cold stone, leaving a wet handprint, as tears streamed down his cheeks. 

“H-Hi mom…” Were the first words Luke had ever said to his mother, his voice constricted from holding back his sobs. He wiped the wet hair off his forehead and sniffled as he walked alongside the stone grave. Luke knew his words fell on deaf ears, his mother wasn’t really here, she was gone and always would be. But just in case she was there, that she could hear him, he had to say something. 

Broken from his trance, Luke heard a muffled voice through the heavy rain, Lekauf’s voice. “Luke! C’mon!” Luke looked from the stone grave up to the stained glass window of his mother, colorful light cast through the gloomy room. Luke swallowed hard, memorizing the glass picture of her before turning to leave. He walked back into the rain, his tears blending in with the rain. 

Luke saw Lekauf walking down the windy road, his hair completely drenched. “It's been longer than a minute, we have to get you dry.”

  
“Okay..” Luke said softly as he led the way out of the burial ground, Lekauf looked at him oddly before following Luke. Luke had just seen his mother's grave for the first time, while he knew she was dead all this time, seeing where she lied was overwhelming. Luke began to understand his father’s feelings about this place, he simultaneously wanted to stay at her grave and run as far away from it as possible. His father must have chosen to run away. 

As they exited the burial ground, Luke began to wonder how it was possible for someone to miss someone they had never met. His heart hurt more than it had before, if it was hard to breathe before he saw her memorial, he was practically gasping for air now. 

* * *

Luke, Lekauf, and Yisé walked into the palace, they were dripping wet on the glossy palace floor. Luke wiped his wet hair out of his face again, he had stopped crying while walking back in the rain but hadn’t stopped hurting inside. “Alright, let's find your room.” Lekauf sighed, Yisé led the way down the hall. Their shoes squeaking loudly as they walked, Luke felt slightly embarrassed as they passed people. 

Luke couldn’t stop spiraling about what he saw, how he finally went to her grave. He didn’t know what to expect when he went to see it, he had always wanted to go. He didn’t expect to feel this heartbroken, he didn’t know how to process these emotions. He fiddled with his shirt as they walked the hall, looking down to the ground the entire time. They were about to reach the lift they saw his father and the queen round the corner.

Luke felt his father's presence wrap around him as his father quickened his pace towards him, Luke had a sinking feeling he was in trouble. Lekauf bowed towards his father and wiped his wet hair off his forehead. “Hello, my Lord, I was just taking Luke towards his room.” 

“Why is my son soaking wet?!” Lekauf swallowed hard as Luke slumped his shoulders, “Do not give me any excuses, I do not have the patience for them!”

“I apologize-”

“It was my fault- I ran off…” Luke mumbled as he looked to the ground and sniffled, his father stared at him for a moment, Luke could practically feel his father's gaze burn into him. He grabbed Luke's wrist and pulled him down the hall. “Where are we going?” Luke asked.

“Your room.” His father said, Luke almost tripped under himself as he tried to keep up with his father’s quick pace. They turned a corner and stopped at a large door, his father punched the control panel and walked in his room. His father positioned Luke in the center of the very large room before he walked in the refresher. Luke was about to glance around the room to see what it looked like but was stopped with his father threw a towel on his head.

“What were you thinking? Running around in the rain?” His father asked as he quickly rubbed the towel on his head somewhat roughly trying to dry Luke up as much as possible. “What did I say about getting into trouble?!” Luke pushed the towel off his head and looked up at his father.

“Y-you never said going outside was not allowed...” Luke said softly, keeping the thought of his mother at the back of his mind. He had to choose his words carefully, he didn’t know what his father would say if he told him he went to her grave.

“You know very well that I would have forbidden it if it had crossed my mind!” Luke kept his gaze on the floor, “Despite that, there is no excuse to run around a street on a planet you have never been to while it is raining!” His father pointed at Luke, “I swear, if you get sick because of this you are grounded, young one.” 

“Grounded!?” Luke asked, “For being sick!?” 

“Yes!” Luke slumped his shoulders and looked down to the ground and crossed his arms.

“That's not very fair..” Luke mumbled, “I can’t help it if I get sick.”

“Perhaps you should have considered that before you went out and ran through the rain.” His father handed him another towel, “You must clean up for this evening, the Emperor is having a dinner party.” Luke scrunched his face, not wanting to be anywhere near the old bag. 

“Will there be kids my age there?” Luke asked, these parties tended to be incredibly boring if it were just adults. 

“I highly doubt it, it’s a private event.” Luke sighed, “I must return to the Emperor, stay in this room while I am gone.”

“You want me to stay in here until dinner time?!?” Luke asked. 

“Yes!” His father stated, “Think of this as a pre-punishment.”

“Pre-punishment?!?” Luke furrowed his brows, “There is no such thing as a pre-punishment!”

“Well there is now,” his father paused, “Remain in this room until I return, do _not_ try and leave.” His father quickly turned and left Luke alone in his room. He let out a long and deep sigh and turned to look around his room. It was a decent size, a large bed and a holovid with a couple of empty dressers. 

Upon further investigation he found the boxes he packed by his bed, he decided to unpack his things. He filled the empty dressers with his clothing and hung up the plastic concealed Empire Day outfit. He rifled through his boxes and found his mother's holo and began thinking about her grave again. He gripped the edge of the holo tightly, wishing that her picture would magically wave hello to him. 

He placed the holo on the bedside table along with his mother's ornate comb, now more than ever did he understand his father, anything linking to his mother was difficult to see. Every time he looked at her holo his mind flashed to her grave, he was tempted to lower her holo so he didn’t have to keep thinking of her grave but stopped himself. He knew avoiding something like this wouldn’t be good for him, or his father. 

He plopped down on his bed and turned on his holo, if he wasn’t allowed to leave he would at least do something entertaining. He hoped his father's mood would lift but somewhat doubted that it would. 

* * *

He brushed his hair out while he looked at himself in the mirror in the refresher. He wore a white sleek outfit with the Imperial logo on his and shoulders. He was desperately hoping this would go by fast, but he was excited to see more of the palace. 

Unfortunately, he did not get to finish his previous tour. Luke sensed his father's presence come closer, finally, he had gotten bored despite having a holovid. All he wanted to do was look around and he was kept from doing so. Luke walked out of the refresher and watched his father walk in. 

“I see you are ready,” his father stated, “follow me.” His father quickly exited the room. Luke followed behind him, he wondered if his father was still in a bad mood. 

“Soo… I hope the dinner is fun tonight.” Luke said awkwardly, his father didn’t respond, he just kept walking quickly down the elegant hall. “Maybe the event won’t be long and-”

“Does it sound like I want to have a conversation?” His father snapped, Luke furrowed his brows and looked to the ground. He was beginning to grow impatient with his father's attitude. At first he tried his best to be understanding but now he was just being mean for no reason to Luke.

It’s not like being on his mother's home planet with his moody sith father was easy for him either, he had tried his best to be nice and optimistic but this trip was slowly turning sour. Eventually, they reached the end of the hall. A large pair of doors opened to reveal a circular room with a round table in the center. The Emperor sat right across the table with two Imperial guards flanking either side of him. Luke saw a man with a serious and stern face Luke recognized as the Emperor's spy. The senator for Naboo, she had deep brown hair and eyes, she sat close to the Queen. It truly was a small gathering.

His father crossed the room to stand next to the Emperor, Luke followed to greet the old bag. The Emperor narrowed his eyes on Luke and a small smile grew on his hideous face. Like felt chills run up and down his spine and bowed once he reached him.

“It is an honor to dine with you, your highness,” Luke said blankly, Sidious chuckled. 

“How are you enjoying my planet,” Sidious inquired. 

“It’s beautiful, all the architecture is lovely.” 

“Yes it is, isn’t it. Your mother loved this planet..” Luke shifted uncomfortably at the mention of his mother. “Speaking of, have you met your mother's family?” Luke felt his heart stop. His mother had a family?! Luke glanced up to his father who didn’t turn to address him. He wished his father would say something, anything, he was incredibly confused. He looked back at Sidious who looked happy with what he had done. 

“M-my mother's family?” 

“Ohh- I see, your father failed to mention that didn’t he?” He folded his hands over each other, “What kind of father does that?”

“May I speak with my son in private about this?” Luke turned his attention to his father who finally spoke up. Sidious slowly turned his gaze to him and frowned. 

“No- you may not.” He growled, he turned back to face Luke. “Why don’t you try and enjoy yourself, hm?” Luke swallowed hard and nodded. 

“Yes..your highness..” Luke said softly, the Emperor grinned as Luke turned to find a seat at the table. He randomly chose one and looked down at his reflection on the black gloss. He felt his father nudge him through the force, he opened their connection. 

_“Was he telling the truth?!”_ Luke asked, his father was silent. 

_“Yes.”_ Luke frowned and tried to hold back his tears. That may have been nice to know, he might have aunt aunts or uncles, cousins, maybe even grandparents. Why would his father keep this from him? _“Luke- there is something I must tell you.”_ Luke cut their connection abruptly and brooded in his seat. He wasn’t going to listen to his father try and defend himself. Not telling him about his own family was awful, it made Luke want to storm out of this room to be alone. This day did not go as he had wanted it to. 

He supposed he wanted to learn more about his mother; he sure learned more on this day than his whole life. He just had wished there wasn’t such a stigma about her, that he could learn about her freely as he wished. Everything about her was a mystery, and all his questions were finally being answered. He just guessed he didn’t like any of the answers he had gotten. 

A plate of food was set out on the table in front of Luke, nothing screams class like a small expensive meal. He sighed as he pushed his food around on the plate, he suddenly didn’t feel very hungry anymore. If he had an extended family, he wanted to meet them. He wondered if his father would even let him, considering he had kept them a secret all of this time. Luke heard the Senator and the Queen laugh about something from across the table, Luke glanced up to see what it was about. 

He didn’t get to hear what the joke was, but he caught the attention of the Queen and the Senator. The Queen smiled softly, “I apologize for not having a proper greeting earlier, I am Queen Kylantha.” Luke smiled warmly.

“You don’t have to apologize, I am Luke.” He began to eat his food before it became cold, the Senator sat up in her seat and smiled as well.

“My name is Pooja, I am the Senator of Naboo.” Luke smiled at her as well, “So- how are you liking it here?” 

“Well, from what I have seen, it's really beautiful.” Luke paused, “It's my mother's home planet.”

“Well, that means Naboo is part of your heritage then.” Luke smiles at that thought, never really considering it beforehand. “Have you had a tour of the Palace?”

“Kinda, it wasn’t complete though.” 

“Oh, well, maybe the Queen and I can finish the tour for you.” Pooja offered, the Queen nodded with a smile. Luke smiled but then glanced at his father, he let out a deep sigh,

“It would be nice, but I would need my father's permission,” He placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin in the palm of his hand, “Which I seriously doubt he would let me go..” He grumbled under his breath.

“Well, if he lets you, we would still be more than glad to let you tour.” Luke smiled at the thought, he continued his conversations with the Queen and Pooja throughout the evening. It wasn’t as boring as he had thought it would be, but still, he was upset his father had kept his family a secret. He tried his best to not think about it during the dinner but it always popped back in his head, ruining his mood.

The night continued on without incident, soon enough, the night came rolling to a close. People were starting to collect their things and leave. He then felt his father stand behind him, Luke stood quickly in his chair and quickly headed for the door, but his father grabbed a hold of his shoulder. “Come with me.” His father turned around and headed for a different exit then the one they came through. Luke thought about running out the other door to avoid his father, but knew he would just get lost. Luke followed his father and crossed his arms over his chest.

“This is a different exit from the one we came in, ya know.” Luke huffed as he looked to the ground. 

“I am aware.” His father led him down the hall, there was a tense silence between the two. Luke narrowed his eyes on him.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Luke asked accusingly. “About my family.”

“I did not think it was relevant.” His father stated, “I believed having them in your life or not would make little difference.” Luke furrowed his brows.

“Of course it makes a difference! What if I didn’t know about you and then found out you were alive or something!” 

“Do not say something like that.” His father said quickly, they continued down the hall. Luke kept a distance from him and stared at him with a slight glare. The end of the hall illuminated with the moonlight through the large stained glass window. His father stopped dead in his tracks halfway down the hall and turned to face Luke. “I have come to realize that I have been treating you unfairly.”

“Oh, so you just realized that now?” Luke asked incredulously as he crossed his arms over his chest. His father was silent for at least three cycles.

“Yes, and I would like to apologize.” His father stated, “I should not have taken my anger out on you, young one.” he paused, “This is...very difficult for me.” Luke’s demeanor softened, he opened their connection and poked at his father's shields. He let down one of his shields, letting Luke feel waves of remorse and guilt. Luke quickly closed the connection and took a shaky breath.

“Well- this is hard for me to.” Luke said after a moment of silence, “But still, you hid a big part of my family from me!”

“I apologize for this as well, though I do acknowledge that apologies will not remedy what I have done. What I have done is, perhaps, unforgivable.” Luke looked down to the ground, staring at the reflection of light bouncing off his fancy shoes. Maybe he hadn't forgiven his father for what he had done, maybe he would be mad for awhile. But still, Luke was an adamant believer that _nothing_ is unforgivable.

“Nothing is unforgivable,” Luke mumbled, still looking to the ground. His father just stared at him for a moment.

“You have quite the optimistic mindset, young one.” He paused, “I have brought you down this hall because I wanted to show you something.” Luke looked up at him expectantly, “Go down the hall, look at the stained glass window.” Luke looked at him funny but eventually complied. He slowly walked down the hall towards the large stained glass. 

Luke was about to ask who this was when instantly it hit him, this had to be his mother. She wore similar robes to the Queen wore, white face, her hair done up elegantly. This is what he wanted to show him, showing him this may be his best attempt at absolving the way he has been acting towards Luke. Luke felt a heavy weight on his chest again, like he was at his mother's grave. Seeing her displayed like this, knowing this was his mother, it filled his heart. He felt a single tear run down his cheek as he looked up at it in awe. His mother's memory will forever be displayed in a beautiful stained glass window.   
  


Luke turned around to see his father’s back facing the window, Luke took one last look at the window and walked back towards his father. “Thank you for showing me this,” Luke smiled softly as he faced his father.

“Of course,” He paused, “I should have shown this to you sooner, I apologize for this as well.”

“It's okay, father.” This was something Luke could forgive, a window with his mother's art was nice to see but not worth being mad over. 

“You are too forgiving, young one.”

“I think you have said something like that before,” Luke laughed softly.

“Only because it is true,” His father nudged him forward, “You must get to your room, it is almost your bedtime.” Luke frowned slightly.

“Don’t you think thirteen is a little old for a bedtime!?” Luke asked.

“No,” He nudged him again, “Now, let's go.” Luke walked down the hall, towards his room. He appreciated his father trying to make up to him. In addition, he opened up to him, somewhat. Something he rarely did, feeling what his father felt helped put things in perspective, especially when he realised that was only a fraction of what he really felt. Luke was still mad about the hidden family though, he still couldn’t understand how his father thought that would be a good idea. 

They made it to his room, Luke stopped in front of his door. “So-,” Luke paused, “Do you think I could meet them, my family?” His father was silent for a moment.

“Not during this trip, they have no idea you survived your birth. In addition, telling them you are your mother's son they shall find out, through little effort, who I used to be. I would like to keep that knowledge as closed as possible.” Luke thought this over, it was true, if he told them Vader was his father, they would find out he was Anakin Skywalker. Why that was a big deal was beyond Luke, but Luke knew his father was _touchy_ about his past. 

“Can’t we just lie?” Luke asked.

“A lie is a good idea, but we have little time to think of a lie without any flaws.” His father said. “If you were not my son, then why would you live with me?”

“Uhh-” Luke looked side to side, trying to think of the best lie he could, “Just cause?” Luke shrugged.

“ _Just cause_ is not a good enough lie, I will think of possibilities while you sleep. In the meantime, get some rest. Empire Day is tomorrow.” Luke nodded and smiled.

“Goodnight, father.” 

“Goodnight, my son.” Luke walked in his room, feeling a small sense of excitement at the prospect of meeting his mother's family. Knowing that there were other living relatives to Luke that would actually tell him about his mother was amazing to Luke. Finally, he could learn as much about her as possible. Hopefully he could meet his mother's family sooner than later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, emotional roller coaster! Poor Luke is going through A LOT! Poor guy, but at least him and Vader talked about his fathers behavior. 
> 
> Oof also, Palpatine spilled the beans about Padmes family. He is so chaotic he lives for the drama. I also added my own fanart I started making, I have a tumblr if you'd like to follow: https://skyguyy.tumblr.com/page/1
> 
> Anyways! Thank you so so much for reading! Please let me know what you thought! I love hearing from you!


	4. Empire Day part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Empire Day has begun!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is all just build-up for Empire Day part 2! I hope you like it!

It was Empire Day, Vader found himself on one of the balconies, looking over the city. He watched as large crowds gathered on the main road, making room for a parade. He felt all their lives buzz dully in the force, he felt their excitement for the festivities rise. How ignorant they are, this day was not to be celebrated, the founding of the Empire was insignificant and not worthy of celebration. 

This day represented the day his wife was tricked and manipulated from the Jedi. She was swept away from Vader, in a haze of emotion and confusion, hot fiery volcanic air seemed to fog their minds. Kenobi, he took her away, which was her death sentence. If he had been there with her, besides her, he could have saved her life. He was ripped from the opportunity of being there for his child's birth, allowing the Jedi to attempt to hide Luke from his father. The Jedi were twisted and evil, but Kenobi was the worst of them. Taking his wife and hiding his son from his father, the only family he had, only a Jedi could be so evil. 

He clenched his fists tightly, his mind reeling as he thought of why he hated this day. He began to wonder why he was wasting time looking out over the crowd, perhaps it was to look for a distraction from his past that tended to bubble up on this day. It became immediately evident t2hat every direction he looked, he was faced with his past, on Naboo, there was no running from it. 

He turned quickly on his heels and walked back into the palace, he stormed down the halls. He had yet to go over yesterday's ship logs. Such a monotonous job, and something that took up a large chunk of time considering all the work that gets done on the  _ Devastator _ . He wouldn’t have much time to review it, the start of the Empire Day celebrations will be carried out shortly, but until then, he would start his work.

Just as he reached the office door that he claimed he was blinded by the pure light of his son's force presence. Suddenly, his current task had changed and walked down the hall towards his son's room. He wasn’t going to have Lekauf wake Luke for another fifteen minutes, Luke waking up this early was unusual but could be explained by the time difference. Since he was up, he supposed he and Luke would arrive early to the celebration. Those log recordings would just have to wait. He had recalled the previous night of promising not to lash out at him, which he would do his best not to. Though, others were not promised such a luxury. 

He had not meditated at all during the night, giving him time to think of how he had treated his son. He had treated him too harshly, that was now obvious to him. On Empire Day, he had little to no patience, even on Coruscant. On Naboo, he felt a constant swirl of anger boiling in his chest. He would do his best to do something Sith were not meant or encouraged to do, he would hold his anger back, on his son at least.

* * *

When Luke woke up and looked over to his chrono, he instantly knew it was too early to be awake. It was fifteen minutes till 0700, why was his internal clock so screwed? Maybe it was the time difference, oh well, he rolled over in his bed and shut his eyes to get some more well-deserved rest. 

Well, he would have if his father hadn’t stormed in his room and loomed over him. Luke rolled over and lazily blinked in a dazed and tired confusion. “Get ready, I suspect the Emperor would like to speak with us soon.” Luke rolled over in his bed and pulled his covers up.

“It's too early-” Luke whined, “Can’t he wait?”

“You are perhaps the only person in the galaxy who would make the Emperor wait.” Luke shifted in his bed, trying to get the last few seconds of rest before he had to get up.

“Do not test my patience, young one.” His father said as he poked at him through their bond, Luke groaned and rolled out of his bed. 

“Ugh, fine.” Luke yawned, “The Emperor is such a sleemo..” He practically whispered.

“Luke,” His father said quickly, Luke looked up to him groggily, “You are prohibited from using Hutt slang.” He paused, “In addition, I must advise you to mind what you say about the Emperor, considering he is in such close quarters.” Luke sighed, thinking much worse things about the Emperor then what he said out loud.

“Okay, okay, I’ll get ready.” 

“I shall be back in five minutes, you must be ready by then.” Luke nodded as he stood from his bed, he wavered slightly, still not feeling a hundred percent awake. 

“You may not act like you have been deprived of sleep your entire life at the ceremony, young one.” Luke stretched out his arms and shrugged.

“If only there was something, maybe a drink, that helped people wake up.” Luke smiled winningly, “Ya know...caf?”

“I knew what you meant.” His father made a sound that almost resembled a sigh, “I am going to pretend I did not hear it.” His father turned on his heels and left his room. Luke shuffled towards his closet and pulled out his Empire Day outfit. He gently pulled the plastic covering off and quickly changed into it. He studied himself in the mirror, this outfit was incredibly stiff and he felt like he had to stand as straight as possible to not crease it.

Imperial logo badges were largely displayed on either side of his sleeves, along with being plastered on the right side of his chest. Pins and buttons were on the left side, which Luke wasn’t sure what they meant. He had asked his father before and the pins were something that had to do with different branches of government or something. 

He straightened out his hair and fiddled with the collar of his uniform for a good while until his father walked back in, “Luke, do not mess with that outfit!” Luke sighed.

“It's so uncomfortable! I can’t believe I have to wear this all day.” Luke moped. “Try wearing something so uncomfortable for like, hours!” His father's vocoder made a sound that Luke guessed was a sigh.

“I can Imagine,” Luke crossed his arms over his chest, “Remember to not get one stain or crease or blemish on that outfit, or you shall fly home with the Emperor on his personal ship.” His father pointed at him, Luke nodded. He knew he was bluffing, right?

“You wouldn’t actually do that, would you?” Luke asked.

“Do not try to find out,” His father said, “Follow me, young one. Remember, stay close to me.” Luke nodded, his father turned and led him out of his room and down the hall. 

Luke looked out the large windows, the sky was a soft orange with a mix of blue. The sunlight beamed through the glass and warmed his face as he squinted to see the view. He saw large crowds around the street surrounded by stormtroopers for security. Eventually, they rounded a corner and out onto a very large balcony. It overlooked the main road, where Luke saw an even larger crowd gathered on either side of the street. The center was empty for the parade floats, Luke heard the loud buzz of excitement of the crowd from the balcony. Luke walked up to the ledge to get a better look he then felt his father walk up close behind him.

“What did I say about staying close to me, young one.” Luke slumped his shoulders and walked alongside his father. “We must meet with the Emperor,” Luke nodded and followed his father down the large balcony. Luke saw that the balcony was flanked with Imperial guards, protecting lower members of government and military personnel. 

His father led him up a flight of stairs to a higher vantage point on the balcony, this section was guarded by force shields and Imperial Guards. Luke instantly saw how more select and private this location was. The sparse crowd moved out of the way for his father as he walked up to the Emperor. The Emperor smiled crudely as his father bowed towards him.

“Well, it's a glorious Empire Day, isn’t it?” He squinted his eyes on Luke, “How is your Empire Day proceeding, young Skywalker?”

“It is going well, your highness,” Luke bowed to the Emperor, keeping his eyes down out of Sidious’s eye line. Looking into his eyes was deemed somewhat disrespectful, Sidious wanted people to look to the ground, most were not worthy of looking him in the eyes. 

“I suppose you must find this time of the year difficult for you, hmm?” Sidious inquired, Luke, furrowed his brows and nodded slowly.

“Yes, your highness.” Luke practically whispered, Sidious hummed with a grin and drummed his fingers on his armrest.

“Seeing as this is around the time your mother died,” Sidious added, Luke tensed up and felt slightly angry that Sidious kept bringing up his mother. “Despite all of that, try to enjoy Empire Day, young Skywalker, you are dismissed.” Luke nodded and walked a little ways away towards the small breakfast display, he then felt his father poke at their bond.

_ “I shall find with you as soon as the Emperor dismisses me _ ,” His father informed, Luke sent understanding through their bond and closed the connection. He was just glad to be away from the Emperor, he examined his food options and put a couple of things on a plate and walked over to a ledge. He felt still slightly tired, the morning was quiet and there was a cool breeze that brushed his face. It was a nice moment of silence, well, except for the soft sound of chatter in the distance from the crowd.

The quiet morning air didn’t last much longer, soon he heard the crowd cheering. At first, Luke thought it might have been the floats for the parade, he looked up the main street and saw nothing, he turned his head and saw what they were cheering for. He saw the Emperor standing and looked over the crowd, his father was on the Emperor's right hand side. The Emperor raised his hands up and smiled, the crowd ‘s applause loudened.

“The thirteenth year has come to a close since the founding of the Empire,” Sidious began, the crowd clapped and whistled excitedly. Luke could feel their excitement buzz in the air. “The Empire may still be in its youth, but we get stronger every day. We shall beat those who seek to oppose us, who oppose order and peace. We shall flourish once again for another year, and many many more!” Once again a roaring applause exploded from the crowd.

Then the Imperial National Anthem began to play from a live band and Luke watched the floats go down the main road. Luke knew he was in an exclusive area on the balconies with the most influential people in the Galaxy, but wished he was down on the road with the crowd. He wished to get a better view of the floats and catch whatever treats they were throwing into the crowd. Watching from up here was boring, he sighed as he leaned into the stone railing that looked over the crowd. 

“Hello Luke,” Luke turned around and saw Queen Kylantha and Pooja again. His eyes lit up, the Queen who wore a large gown, with her face painted. It was still quite a spectacle to Luke, no one on Coruscant dressed anything remotely like this. 

“Hello,” he bowed to the Queen, “Happy Empire Day.” Kylantha smiled.

“To you as well, Luke.” She looked to Pooja, “I’ll be right back, I must speak with the Emperor.”

“Alright, I’ll stay right here and keep Luke some company,” Pooja looked to Luke and smiled, Kylantha nodded and walked off. Luke smiled awkwardly, not really sure what to say. Pooja placed herself next to Luke and looked out over the main road. 

“Out of all the planets I’ve been, all the cities I have seen, no place was ever able to surpass my love for Theed.” She smiled warmly as she surveyed the sights in font of them, Luke looked at the parade as well then around the city. "Though, I may be slightly biased."

“It really is beautiful,” Luke smiled.

“You said your mother was from here?” 

“Yes,” Luke nodded, “It's the first time I have been on the planet.” Pooja furrowed her brows, looking slightly confused.

“First time? But your mother's from here? Why have you not visited before?” Luke shifted uncomfortably.

“It's a- a complicated story,” He laughed awkwardly, he looked back over the street feeling slightly awkward. “So- do you like being a Senator?” Pooja smiled brightly, almost like she was waiting to talk about it.

“Yes, I really do.” She nodded, “I want to bring change in some way into the Galaxy, have a positive influence and..” She paused and looked somewhat distant, “I found it a great way to honor my aunt's legacy.”

“Your aunt was a Senator too?” Luke asked, she nodded with a small smile. 

“Yes, quite the revolutionary one at that.” She smiled, “She worked incredibly hard to keep peace during the clone wars.”

Luke laughed awkwardly, “I don’t know much about the Clone Wars, History is kind of a hard subject for me” Luke asked, though he felt kind of stupid for confessing something like that. He probably should know more about the Clone Wars than he did. An awkward silence grew between them, Luke bit his lip.

“So uh- what kind of stuff does a Senator do, exactly?” Luke asked, continuing the small talk. 

“Well we-” Her eyes widened and looked at something behind Luke, Luke was about to turn and see but was pulled back. Instantly he realized it was his father, who pushed Luke behind him. His father stared at Pooja for a long time then turned to face Luke.

“Luke, I must leave early to finish work I had left, come with me, you may rest until the next event,” Luke opened his mouth to say something before Pooja spoke up.

“Well maybe we can continue your conversation later, Luke,” She smiled.

“Unlikely, I do not trust politicians around my son in the slightest.” Pooja swallowed hard and nodded in understanding. His father placed his hand on his back and led him away. He then looked up at his father as they walked into the palace.

“Maybe not all politicians are mean- she seemed pretty nice,” Luke offered.

“I have full confidence in my conclusion that all politicians are scum, I have far more experience dealing with them. They would find some way to use you to their advantage, I will not allow that.” Luke continued down the hall with his father, wondering if his father was right about his claim about politicians. 

“So- how many events are there today?” Luke asked.

“Several, the next event is the Early Afternoon Celebration, then a Dinner Party, following that is a fireworks celebration.” Luke nodded but internally felt drained from all the events he had to go to today. He would take this opportunity to rest since he had to get up so early. They eventually reached Luke's bedroom, he stopped in front of his door and faced his father.

“So when is the next event?” 

“In a couple of hours, I will have Lekauf inform you when to get ready.” Luke nodded.

“Okay, see you later.”

“Do not ruin your outfit, young one.” His father pointed at him, Luke held his hands up in defense.

“I know! I know!!” Luke laughed, “See ya.” Luke smiled and walked into his room. Hopefully, the events weren’t going to be too boring, but, so far, Naboo’s celebration was incredibly huge. It was a lot of fun seeing a new celebration instead of the same old one he had seen since he was a baby.

* * *

Vader stood in front of Luke's bedroom door, knowing he was going to have to tell Luke about his cousin. They had just been speaking, it was practically a miracle that nothing was revealed. He couldn’t let them speak further just in case something was revealed, he would have told Luke sooner but feared Luke would slip something about being cousins to Pooja on accident. Vader knew he would have to be honest with him, he could no longer keep secrets about Luke’s maternal family. He saw no reason nor felt any inclination to keep secrets from him anymore, it was no longer a worthwhile pursuit, not if it would cause a rift in their relationship. He just needed to find the right time to tell Luke.

He turned to leave Luke's room and headed for his office to review the logs he had left for later. Vader would attempt to be more honest with his son, he could not allow distrust to develop between them. Sidious was always looking for ways to cause friction between them, that is why he told Luke about his extended family, no doubt. 

Perhaps he would tell Luke about his mother's grave, he could have Lekauf take him there. He knew his son would most likely prefer Vader to come with him, but that was out of the question. He wouldn’t go to her grave, ever again. But he was sure it might be something Luke would like to do. He would reflect on it as he worked, it might make up for all the secrets he has kept. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Than you so much for reading! I hope you guys liked it! Like I said, this is just build-up! Please let me know what you thought! I love hearing from you!!


	5. Empire Day part 2

The Early Afternoon Celebration, which was pure collaboration and relationship building with Imperial commanders, was as much of a waste of time as any celebration.  _ All  _ of these celebrations were pointless and uneventful, celebrating anything was a useless act. Mawkish speeches were made by members of staff who cried their love for the Empire and what the Empire meant to them. They were unimpressive, and a pain to listen to. It was a shock to Vader that anyone even clapped for them. 

The only speech he did clap for was Luke’s, he made a small speech, something the Emperor has requested him to do so since he turned eleven. He wanted to have Luke show more of a public interest in the Empire, though Vader believed Luke was too young for him to be on public display, even now Vader felt his almost fourteen-year-old son was too young for something like that. But some things were out of his control.

It had been hours since the Early Afternoon Celebration, it was time for the Dinner Party. This was the most important one, at least to the Emperor. Vader and Luke were currently walking down the halls of the palace towards the main dining hall. Luke was almost bouncing, he could feel Luke’s excitement through the force. He looked down at his son.

“What has made you so excited?” Luke looked up grinning.

“The fireworks show!” This made sense to Vader, the only aspect Luke enjoyed about Empire Day was the fireworks show. Though, when Luke was really little he was terrified of fireworks and would hide behind his cape. But now, they were Luke’s favorite part of the day. “I just hope this dinner party goes by fast.”

  
"I feel the same as well, young one.” Vader paused, “Soon after the fireworks event, you must go to bed. We leave early in the morning.” Luke’s eyes widened and stopped in his tracks, his mouth was slightly agape.

“We are leaving so soon!?” Vader stopped and faced his son.

“Yes- is this an issue?” Luke slumped his shoulders and looked to the floor.

“I just thought we would be here longer than that..” Luke paused, “I just wanted to see more of this place I guess.” Vader crossed his arms over his chest.

“We are not required to be here after this day is over, we can not delay our departure. I have work to continue with, and you, young one, have school to get back to.”

“We can’t stay here just a little bit longer?” Luke asked as he looked back up at Vader, he felt something spike in his chest. He felt no urge to stay any longer than necessary, he never even wanted to come back to this planet. Despite his desire to leave, he did want to give Luke extra time here, but it was not possible due to time restrictions. 

“That is not possible, unfortunately, we are on a strict time schedule.” Luke was disappointed, this was obvious. His eyes had drifted to the floor and nodded slowly. Vader paused before turning and continuing down the hall towards the dining room.

They reached the location of the dinner party, Vader walked ahead into the grand dining room which was full of members of high society who flew here on their expensive personal shuttles to be with the Emperor on this day. Being in the Emperor's favor is all that mattered to these Politicians and higher ranked military members. Vader found their constant want to be in good terms with the Emperor a disgusting facade, the Emperor found it endearing. 

He could feel Luke’s dropping mood, knowing full well Sidious felt it as well. Luke tended to scream his emotions into the force, his shields were not strong. He knew Sidious must enjoy his son's turmoil and would find a way to use it against Luke by making him feel worse. 

* * *

Luke looked around the room solemnly, he felt like he was being a baby but couldn’t help but be disappointed. While Luke wished to look around the planet more, he really wanted to stay for his birthday. It was coming up and Luke didn't want to spend his birthday on a Star Destroyer, he wanted to have it on his mother's planet. Not to mention, he wanted to be able to see his mother's grave again before they left.

The dining room was huge with great chandeliers hanging from the tall ceilings with tapestries hanging on the walls. He felt like the palace on Naboo never failed to impress him, every room he saw was more elegant than the other. The crowd at the dinner party was large, though it always was. Luke was shocked to see a lot of the Senators, Moffs, and Generals flew themselves here just to be at this party. He thought celebrating off Coruscant would be more quiet, just a few of the highest members of Imperial Society. 

Several Imperial members bowed to Luke, waved to him, and wished him a happy Empire Day as they passed. Luke did his best to put on a smile and wished them a good day as well, they reached the Emperor. Luke bowed towards Sidious, the Emperor's face slowly curled into a smile. 

“Greetings, young Skywalker.”

“Hello, your highness, it is an honor to dine with you this evening,” Luke said, Sidious still held the smug grin.

“I could feel your distress through the force child, why must you sully the evening with these emotions?” Luke’s eyes widened, not expecting the Emperor would confront him on this or even be paying attention to his emotions.

“I-I uh-,” Luke sputtered.

“Oh please, do tell me, and try not to stutter.” Luke furrowed his brows and looked between his father and the Emperor.

“I was- I was just upset about leaving tomorrow.” The Emperor laughed softly.

“For someone who is about to be fourteen you have the emotional capacity of a small child,” Luke gasped softly and felt his stomach twist tightly. His eyes began to water, “Do not ruin my party with your moping.”

“Master, I believe he is upset because he did not get to properly look around his mother's planet.” His father defended, Sidious seemed to seethe with anger as he turned to look at his father.

“Do not defend your offspring's childish emotions!” Sidious turned back to Luke and narrowed his eyes, “You are dismissed.” In a quick and urgent want to run away from the Emperor and eat at the opposite end of the table, he turned quickly and charged forward. 

Unfortunately, in his haste, he ran into someone holding a plate of food, which was dropped onto Luke and fell on his outfit. Luke stumbled back and looked at his now ruined outfit and at the man he ran into. There was a tense silence until the Emperor began to chuckle, Luke looked at him mortified as tears began to run down his cheeks. He heard snickers here and there from other people around, he glanced at his father then ran down the dining room, out the door, and down the hall.

He was so embarrassed, so mortified, people laughed, the Emperor laughed. The Emperor pulled him over and made him feel terrible for how he had felt, he did not want to be in the same room, no, same building as that monster. He kept running and running, multiple times he felt his father poke at his presence urgently, but he didn’t open their connection. He wanted to be alone.

He ran out the main entrance and down the main street, he wanted to be at his mother's grave. It would be quiet, peaceful, he would be with his mother, and he would get to see it one last time before leaving the planet. He didn’t know the next time he would get the chance to come back to Naboo, his father might be mad for him running off what it was worth any punishment.

* * *

“You may look for your offspring.” Sidious groaned as they watched the staff clean up the mess caused by the collision between Luke and the Imperial officer. “But I must warn you,” His voice suddenly became grim and venomous, “Never defend him from me again, he is up to my criticism.”

“Yes, my master,” Vader said. 

“You have ten minutes, if you cannot find him by then you must still come back to the party. You are expected to be at events like this, Lord Vader.” Sidious added, “You cannot allow your offspring to distract you from such things.” Vader felt his anger rise.

“Yes, master.” Sidious waved him away, he quickly walked down the dining room and held onto Luke’s force presence. Sidious gave him only ten minutes to find his son, so he would use every second he had. He kept attempting to form a connection and ask Luke where he was but he wasn’t responding. He walked out into the palace hall and stormed his way down looking for his son. Luke could not possibly navigate this place without getting lost, Vader expected he was hiding somewhere to be alone.

It aggravated Vader without end of what happened, Sidious is a master manipulator. His son still took so much to heart it may not be possible for him to comprehend what Sidious is always intending to do. Causing emotional turmoil was his end goal, allowing Sidious to do this to his son was upsetting, to say the least. He had allowed this as an attempt to ultimately keep Luke safe, keeping an image of always siding with Sidious is a vital role in this, defending Luke was to show weakness and treason to the Emperor. But Vader knew this could not last any longer, this was unacceptable. 

He pulled out his comlink, “Lekauf, send search parties throughout the palace in search of Luke.” 

“Luke!?” The shocked response from Lekauf crackled from the comlink, Lekauf took a moment of silence. “Yes my Lord, right away!” The com was cut and continued his search. 

* * *

Luke reached the entrance for the Royal Burial Ground, his heart was racing from sprinting down the main road. It was dark out, the burial ground was dimly lit by tall lanterns. He walked slowly through the graveyard feeling more than a little creeped out. He never really thought he would be creeping through a graveyard at night but he was glad to be away from the Emperor. 

After slowly making his way through the graveyard he ended back up at his mother's memorial, he smiled softly and bent over and picked a small handful of flowers from the ground. He walked up the steps and placed the flowers on the stone coffin, his eyes began to water again. He took in a deep breath and sat on the floor. He tried to forget the wave of humiliation the Emperor made him feel, he sat in silence, he rubbed the palm of his hands into his eyes. He felt slightly tired and hungry, hopefully, a droid would be able to bring him a meal to his room later that evening.

He felt a small inclination to voice his problems to his mother's grave, which he felt slightly weird for. He had come to terms with it yesterday, that she couldn’t hear him, but for a moment, he wanted to pretend she could. 

For a long while, Luke sat in silence in his mother's memorial listening to nothing but his own breathing and the bugs buzzing in the night time. He felt his heart skip when he heard footsteps softly scrape on the stone passageway leading to the memorial. His shock quickly subsided, he assumed it must be guards sent out to look for him. Luke stood up and slowly makes his way out of the memorial. 

He stopped in his tracks on the stairs of his mother's memorial, he was staring at a middle-aged brunette woman who held a flickering candle.

“Who are you?” The woman asked as she looked Luke up and down.

“Uhm.”

“What are you doing here?” The woman's voice wavered, Luke worried that maybe she thought Luke had come here to prank the area. Something like that has happened on Coruscant where teenagers would deface anything they could get away with. Luke held up his hands as evidence for his innocence.

  
“I-I just came to visit my mother's grave,” Luke said quickly, he wanted it to be clear he wasn’t trying to disrespect the area. The woman's eyes widened as she looked from the memorial to Luke over and over again. 

“Mother?!” She hissed, “Are you saying you are walking out of your mother's memorial right now?” Luke sucked in a nervous breath, wondering if he was allowed to even say his mother was Padme on Naboo. He had just panicked slightly to not seem like a vandal, his father might not like Luke mentioning his mother was Padme Amidala. 

“Oh uh-” Luke turned to face the memorial, he thought about attempting to lie that this wasn’t his mother’s memorial. But he could not find it in him to lie about who his mother was while he was in her memorial. Luke turned back to face the woman, “Yes, she is.” The woman frowned and folded her arms over her chest.

“That is not a funny joke,” Her voice was very serious, Luke frowned and sighed heavily.

“I am not joking-” 

“You have to be joking-” She paused, “My sister died before she was able to give birth, she-”

“Sister!?” Luke jumped down from the steps, “Padme is your sister!?”

“Yes, she is- so your whole faking being her son can stop.” The woman said firmly, “I would know if her child survived.” Luke couldn’t believe he was staring at his aunt, his mother's sister! Unfortunately, she didn’t believe him. Luke took an ernest step closer to her.

“No- I am telling the truth, she was- is, my mother,” Luke said with his brows furrowed, hoping she would believe him.

“That's not possible-” She shook her head, “She was still pregnant when she-”

“Please, you have to believe me!” Luke pleaded, though realizing it must be hard to believe him. To her, he was some random kid hanging around her memorial. “There must be something I can do to prove-”

“Please stop!” She protested, “It's near the anniversary of her death- I can’t handle you pretending to be her son.” Her voice wavered, she looked as if she was about to cry. Luke deflated, in his haste to make her realize who he was, he now saw he was causing her emotional turmoil. He wished his first meeting with his aunt had gone better, he wanted their first meeting to be amazing and ask a million questions about his mother. All he was doing was causing his aunt pain.

“Mom, I got the flowers!” A voice came from the distance, his heart quickened. “Sorry for taking so long, I- '' From the darkness a woman some years older than Luke appeared, she was speaking with Luke’s aunt. So he had a cousin?! His mouth dropped open slightly as he saw his family grew bigger by the second. His cousin looked at his aunt with concern then her eyes darted to Luke. “What happened? Who are you?! Why is my mother crying!?” 

“I- uhm…” Luke was almost at a loss for words, he was not sure how to even tackle this situation. What would she say if he revealed they were cousins? She most likely wouldn’t believe them. She seemed already freaked out by her mother's state, he didn’t know how to tell her everything that happened without freaking her out more. “I-I was, uhm..”

“Who are you!?” His cousin asked again.

“I am Luke Skywalker, and I-”

“Skywalker?!” His aunt looked up, her eyes wide. “Your last name is Skywalker?” Luke nodded. His aunt walked up to Luke, she looked him deep in his eyes in silence for a long while. He felt uncomfortable being under her gaze.

“Your father is Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker?” His aunt asked quietly, almost in a whisper. Luke tensed at the question, obviously, they had no idea that his fathers identity changed. 

“Y-Yes,” Luke said, not wanting to reveal his father's new identity. “You kne- know him?” His aunt nodded.

“Yes, I met him once and-” She paused as she examined him, “From what I remember, you do look like him.” She took a step back. “He and Padme were a secret, so secret that she only told me about it..”

“What's going on?” His cousin asked, “Who is this kid?” 

“Would you be willing to have a blood DNA test?” His aunt asked, ignoring his cousins question, Luke nodded quickly.

“Yes!” He smiled.

“We have a medical droid at my home, come with me and Ryoo. My name is Sola, by the way.” She formed a small smile and turned around and walked down the stone path. Ryoo looked at her like she was crazy. Luke hesitantly stepped forward and began following her. He looked towards the palace, wondering what his father was doing. He wouldn’t be too long, although he wished he had more time to get to know them. There was no way he could stay missing for much longer without his father freaking out. He followed her out of the graveyard and into the speeder.

* * *

Vader paced in the main entrance hall, all security has been stretched to each end of the palace. He was not able to stand still, at first he had just expected to find Luke around the corner sulking at what the Emperor had said. His ten minutes were almost up, and where Luke’s presence was it was now clear he wasn’t in the palace at all. Sidious did not allow him to search the main street of Theed.

He heard quick footsteps then saw Lekauf enter the hall, he was rushing towards Vader, gripping his datapad. “So far, the search for Luke has been unsuccessful..” Lekauf said, his face contorted in concern. He could feel the stress radiating off of the man. Vader’s anger rose immeasurably, his fists tightened and the large stained glass window shattered behind him.

“Send search parties through all of Theed, tell them they may take any course of action to retrieve my son. I must return to the Emperor.” Lekauf bowed.

“Yes, my Lord.” Vader turned on his heels and walked down the hall. He should be out there looking for Luke, when he gripped Luke’s signature he felt somewhat far about a half a mile or so. 

What if something had happened to him? Why was he out of the palace? Had someone kidnapped him? Who could have broken through the palace defenses, passed the guards, and stole Luke without being noticed? It was unlikely, but he did not want to dismiss any possibilities. Vader never panicked but felt a swirling knot form in his chest. 

He did not want to lose his son the same day he lost his wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh! Okay, Empire Day pt two! Okay ngl low-key kinda nervous about this chapter but still, I hoped you liked it! Kinda nearing the end of this, then it will be back to the one-shots! I am also gonna change my name to SkyGuy which is the name on my Instagram and Tumblr.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought! I love to hear from you guys!!!!!


	6. We Are Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke learns about his mother and his family!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I think this story will be over in two or three chapters, I hope you guys liked it ha! Also, sorry that updates have been spaced out! I recently have added two stories to this account and I am trying to keep consistent schedules for all of them haha!

They had just arrived at Sola's home, Luke felt more than a little awkward. Ryoo obviously was skeptical of him, asking who Luke was and why Sola was bringing him to their home. Luke didn’t blame her, though he wished she would stop eyeing him every now and then. 

Luke hopped out of the speeder and looked at Sola’s home, she was definitely living comfortably. She lived on a quiet street not too far from the main road in Theed, it only took about a couple minutes to get to Sola’s place from the burial ground. The street was quiet and peaceful, Luke was still amazed by the amount of forestry this planet had, how clean the air smelled. It was then when Luke noticed how quiet this city was in comparison to Coruscant. Coruscant was loud all the time, no time was quieter than others, but on Naboo, it seemed people actually slept at night. Luke followed Sola and Ryoo into the house. 

“Mom, please be reasonable.” Ryoo said as they walked into the home, “You just brought a random kid to your home!” Sola sighed as she pressed a control panel to a closet door revealing a medical droid that was powered down. 

“You don’t understand, dear.” Sola said as she powered the medical droid, “I don’t think you remember much of Jedi Knight Skywalker.”

“What if there is more then one person with the last name Skywalker in the galaxy!?” Sola shook her head, ignoring Ryoo. The droids eyes lit up, Sola cleared her voice.

"I would like to run a DNA test against my sample." She ordered, the droid didn't respond, it just followed Sola as she walked over to Luke.

“This is just going to sample a small amount of your blood, okay?” Luke swallowed hard and nodded. Luke looked down at the droid, it was... _ old _ . It made Luke slightly  _ nervous _ , the droid stuck out a needle and pricked Luke, he jumped slightly at the pinch from the needle. The droid sampled his blood and a screen flashed a progress bar as it processed his DNA. The tension in the room rose as they waited for the droid to finish processing the information, everyone stared at it intently. 

The droid’s screen flashed and displayed the results, Luke looked at the screen confused, not too sure how to read medical jargon. Sola gasped at the results and stared at them for a few moments, she brought her hand gently to her mouth.

“What does it say!?” Ryoo asked as she took a step towards Luke and Sola. Sola sniffled softly and wiped a tear from her eyes then looked to Luke.

“It's a match,” Her voice cracked, Luke heard Ryoo gasp softly behind him but he didn’t stop staring into Sola’s dark brown eyes. She looked down at him and then pulled him into a tight hug. Luke stood there awkwardly for a moment then hugged her back, his eyes beginning to tear up. 

Sola pulled away, her hands on Luke’s shoulders as she looked at him. Luke watched her eyes trace over his face. Luke heard Ryoo clear her throat, “Match? As in?”

“He is your cousin, Ryoo,” Sola said softly as she looked up to look at his cousin, “And my nephew.” She looked back down at Luke, “You really do look just like your father, you know?” Luke suppressed a small smile, he knew from the holo of his parents that he did look like his father but it was weird to hear it from someone else. Knowing someone who remembered what his father looked like, remembered who his father used to be, it was... _ weird _ . 

“I think you said that earlier,” Luke laughed softly, Sola smiled.

“Do you need something to eat? Are you hungry?” Sola asked, Luke gripped his growling stomach but shook his head.

“No, I am fine.” Luke half-smiled, Luke couldn’t stay much longer even if he wanted to. He had been feeling his father urgently poke him through the force, he has been ignoring it all this time just to meet his family. He knew if he told his father what he was doing his father would make him go back to the palace, he wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity.

“Oh well, okay then,” Sola smiled, “Oh! Would you like to see some holos of Padme?” Luke’s eyes lit up.

“Yes please!” 

“Alright, you just wait right here, I will be right back!” Sola smiled brightly and left the living room quickly. Luke sat down on the couch and looked to Ryoo and smiled.

“So, you're my aunt Padme’s son?” Ryoo asked as she tilted her head, Luke nodded. Ryoo blinked quickly and raised one of her eyebrows. “Where have you been all this time?” His throat instantly dried up, his body tensed. He forgot he would have to lie about his father, that he would have to explain where he had been the past thirteen years, now he was put on the spot, expected to answer any second.

“I- uh-” Luke sputtered, before he could continue to embarrass himself his aunt walked in holding a box. 

“I found them!” She smiled, she moved to sit next to Luke and pulled out the first holo. Luke looked at it excitedly, it was a picture of a young girl with an older man smiling to who took the holo. “That's your mother and your grandfather. Your mom did a lot of missionary work when she was younger.”

“Wow..” Luke breathed in amazement, taking in the picture of his mom. Sola rummaged through the box some more and gasped at the holo she picked up.

“And here was when me and her were younger at Varykino,” Sola smiled as she held up a holo of his mother and his aunt looking out over a stone balcony, the view was of a large mountain range and a lake.

“What's Varykino?” Luke asked.

“It's a place our family owns outside of Theed, its secluded and private.” Sola smiled, “Your father took your mother there years ago, it was when I first met him.” She kept mentioning both of them together, it was so strange. It was weird for Luke to think about his father that way, in a relationship. For all of Luke’s life, his father had been alone, well, except for Luke. But even with Luke there, did his father feel...alone?

“Wow-” Luke breathed, “Thank you for showing me these holos,” Luke smiled.

“Oh, well, of course Luke!” Sola smiled widely back at him, “I have so many more of these I want to show you!” 

“I would love to see all of them,” Luke paused as he thought of his father, “But-” He muttered, before he could continue Sola stood and placed a hand on her chest.

“Oh Luke, she would have loved you so much.” Luke looked down to hide his eyes from tearing up, he sniffled softly. “I should- I should make you her favorite meal and bring you to Varykino, oh I have her jewelry box if your interested and-” Luke listened to her ramble about all the things she wanted to show him, making Luke want to stay more and more, he felt his chest tighten knowing that he had to leave Naboo tomorrow. None of this would be possible, who knew the next time he could come back to Naboo.

“-Then maybe I could bring you to Naboo’s Royal Museum,” Sola finished, “There is just so much to show you, Luke.” Luke shifted uncomfortably on the couch, not sure what to say.

“That all sounds amazing,” Luke smiled, “But, I actually can’t stay much longer- I have to leave Naboo tomorrow.” Sola’s demeanor changed, she looked shocked and slightly disappointed.

“Leave?” She asked, “Where are you going?”

“Where have you been all this time?” Ryoo asked again, Sola nodded quickly.

“Yes, where have you been?” 

Luke shrank into his seat, oh kriff, he was not good at thinking on the spot. Maybe he should have listened to his father's advice, maybe he shouldn’t have jumped at the opportunity to meet his mother's family. That way, it would allow him and his father to think of a perfect  _ lie _ so they did not reveal his dads identity. But presented with the opportunity to meet his family, he couldn’t say no, it felt like fate.

“Uh-” Luke forced, “Well, you see, its really easy to understand actually-” Luke rambled with no real direction or viable explanation as to where he has been these past thirteen years. They looked at him expectantly, their eyebrows raised.

“Uhm… Well, I have been-” Luke’s terrible explanation was interrupted by a loud knocking on the front doors of Sola’s home. Luke felt his heart jump in his throat at the shock, everyone in the house was silent for a moment.

“Who could be here at this hour?...” Sola muttered as she walked towards the front doors, they swooshed open and a stormtrooper stood on the front steps holding a blaster. “Oh, hello officer, how may I help you?” 

“The city is currently on lockdown under Lord Vader's orders, there is a search for Luke Skywalker,” The trooper held out a holo with Luke’s face projected. “Have you seen this boy?” Sola’s eyes flew open, Luke was frozen in his chair but felt himself be pulled to stand up. Luke looked to who was pulling him and saw Ryoo, she began to lead him down the hall and into one of the rooms. 

“Stay in here, we will tell the trooper you're not here, okay?” Ryoo whispered, Lukes eyes widened.

“No!” Luke said quickly, “You can’t hide me here! You can’t lie to stormtroopers!” 

“Luke, Lord Vader is looking for you,” Ryoo said firmly, “Do you know what happens when he gets his hands on people he is searching for? Did you get in trouble with the Empire or something!?” Luke felt incredibly tense.

“No, I don’t want you guys to get in trouble for hiding me!” Luke whispered back.

“What if Lord Vader is looking for you because you are the son of a Jedi?” Ryoo said quickly, her face contorted in concern. Luke sighed and didn’t answer her, he walked past her out of the room and into the living room towards his aunt. She was rambling on about a lie that Luke knew he would have to end quickly before she got in more trouble.

“So- we haven’t uh- seen this boy or-”

“Hey,” Luke walked up to the front door and faced the stormtrooper, “Its me, I am right here.” Sola gasped and turned to look at Luke. The trooper stared at him for a moment before he lifted his com.

“Skywalker has been located at a citizens residence,” The trooper said.

“Bring Skywalker into the palace along with the citizens, they will be questioned upon arrival.” The reply on the com crackled, Luke could feel his aunt tensed beside him. 

“T-They don’t have to be questioned!” Luke said quickly, “Its not like the kidnapped me or anything!”

“Orders are nonnegotiable,” The trooper barked, “All civilians in this home are required to come with me.” Luke looked back into the home and saw Ryoo, her face looked scared and confused. Sola stepped out of her home and followed the trooper, Ryoo walked up to Luke who stood in the doorway.

“What's going on?” She whispered, “Why does Lord Vader want you so badly?”

“I-I can’t say…” Luke said softly, he didn’t look her in the eyes. He wanted to ease her fear, he could tell she was terrified at the idea of meeting his father. He didn’t know what his father was going to do to Sola and Ryoo, or even why they needed to be questioned. Ryoo looked disappointed in his answer and followed his aunt, Luke followed slowly behind them. They all boarded into the troopers speeder.

Luke looked over out onto the street as they began to fly back towards the palace. He felt terrible, he was the reason they were scared, if he hadn’t gone with them and went back to the palace like he was supposed to, none of them would be in this mess. His stomach kept sinking towards the bottom of his stomach, he didn’t dare look at them, he felt like he ruined their first reunion. He let out a weary sigh as a small tear rolled down his cheek.

* * *

“Sir, there has been confirmation that Luke Skywalker has been located and is being brought back to the Palace at once.” The voice over the com said, Lekauf let out a heavy breath. He was so worried, the whole time Luke was missing he had been slightly panicking and sent troopers out all over Theed, maybe more troopers then was necessary. This whole time Luke had been missing, he was attempting to keep himself calm and professional, to not let his emotions get in the way. But now Luke had been found, he felt relief roll off of him.

“I’ll inform Lord Vader, thank you for the information,” Lekauf spoke into the com, the call was cut and he clipped the com on his belt. He ran a hand through his hair and down his beard, slightly collecting himself. 

He had been pacing the main entrance hall waiting for updates over com, but now he was heading down a hall towards the large dinner party where Lord Vader was. Lord Vader was going to be next to the Emperor, Lekauf was used to reporting to Vader but with the Emperor around, he felt slightly wary. The Emperor was a different type of terrifying. 

He reached the party, there was a soft chatter through the large crowd, what they were talking about was as good as anyone's guess. Lekauf paid no mind to them, he had a job to do. His eyes landed on Vader and walked towards him with his back tall and straight. He then saw the Emperor's eyes land on him as he neared, damn those eyes, they were like poison. 

He stood in front of them and bowed to both of them, the Emperor seemed to have little interest in Lekauf and continued his conversation with Grand Moff Traeda. Lekauf’s eyes traveled back to Vader.

“Do you have anything to report?” Vader asked, Lekauf suppressed a smile as to seem more professional. 

“Luke has been located and is being transferred to the palace with two civilians who are going to be questioned upon arrival,” Lekauf said confidently. 

“Excellent, inform me when Luke and the citizens arrive.” 

“Yes, my lord,” Lekauf said as he began to write his next mission in his datapad.

“In addition, have Luke brought to his room and set guards in front of his door so he does not try to leave.” Lekauf nodded and typed that in as well.

“Is there anything else, my Lord?” Lekauf asked.

“No, you are dismissed, Lieutenant.” Lekauf nodded and let out a deep breath and turned to leave, his eyes glazed over the food on the table that everyone at the party was enjoying. With all this chaos, Lekauf had forgotten to eat anything, but with Luke missing he had lost any appetite he seemed to have. But now everything seemed to be falling back into place, he walked back up to the front entrance and stood outside in the cool night air. He kept his eyes on the road, waiting to see the speeder with Luke in it come down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so much for reading! 🥰
> 
> Yayyy! Luke is going back! but Sola and Ryoo are coming with so that is sure to spell disaster! Too bad Luke couldn't spend more time with them! 
> 
> Also, I hope you guys liked Lekaufs perspective, I am thinking about adding his perspective more often in the one shots so let me know if you'd be interested in that. 
> 
> Thank you sososooso much again for reading!! Please let me know what you thought! Comments fuel me! 🥰

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you guys liked this! Please let me know what you guys thought! I love to hear from you!


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